Option A was flatly rejected by my pool-mates, but I wanted to get some fly in so we went with Option C.

Since everyone except for yours truly was skimping on the stroke stuff, I modified the interval to 1:05 for the Free 75’s, and 1:15 for the IM 75’s. (If you’ve ever seen my breaststroke, you know that this was a rather important modification)

The past week was a bit of a logistical roller coster for getting my 1000 miles completed. My main pool is closed for the break, another pool across the river is plagued by lifeguard shortages (another college pool) during the break, so I hoped that it would be an easy fix during my visit to Bklyn with several pools within striking distance, and a couple set up for LCM.

Dec 24 was a travel day, so I woke up at 4:30 AM on the 25th and headed to Riverbank (the pool that is never closed). It was closed, so I headed cross-town to Asphalt Green which was a complete ghost town except for a lifeguard and a security guard who stated “the pool is open, but nobody is here but you”. I’m OK with that, so I asked for a drop in pass…. no dice. he wasn’t authorized to fill out the proper forms, and since no members were present, I couldn’t get in as a guest either. SOL

Time was running out: 22 +/- miles to go and 6 days left to the year. Two days would be lost to New Years closures and they were predicting a major snow storm. Clare decided to head upstate early on the 26 to beat the storm, I secured a swim date with Kenn L at Chelsea Piers, so I planned to drive up later. CP is a great gym, and even though the pool is only 25 yards, I was glad to have the opportunity to get a nice long session in.

20x 1000 on 15 minutes.

I did this session with water only; no gels, no carbs. I kept the effort moderately light and had a little more than a minute rest on each 1000 keeping my walls light. The pool is surrounded by glass and it was nice to see the Hudson River getting tossed up in the storm while the snow started to pile up. I walked to my car and decided that it wouldn’t be wise to drive upstate in this storm, so I headed to Bklyn, parked the car and went to sleep.

The storm dropped about two feet of snow and not a plow in site. After a little time on the internet, I discovered that everything (pools) was closed, the subway wasn’t running and my car was buried, so I couldn’t even get to Coney Island for a snow dip. The next morning, 12/28 limited subway service was restored and a few calls later, I found that Chelsea Piers was the only game in town. Since I couldn’t drive anywhere, I walked to the D train to make my way to CP. Only 16,000 yds needed…. I could do that!

I swam the first 8,000 yds straight. My lane partner changed 4 times, but I recognized Kenn now (yellow paddles and pull buoy). I finished up with a 3000, 2x 2000 and 1x 1000…… DONE!

The subway ride back to Bklyn took 2.5 hrs, and the streets still haven’t been plowed…. another night away from home.

12/29: finally a plow truck is making its way down the street. The driver is having a hell of a hard time as many residents in their infinite wisdom have created eight foot piles of snow in the middle of the street. It takes this poor guy 2 hours to get through one single block, and the road is still a mess. Not to be deterred, I pull out right behind him and drive my way out of post-apocalyptical Bklyn to the promised land of the Mid-Hudson Valley where they know how to plow snow.

David Barra is co-founder and co-director of New York Open Water and the 8 Bridges Hudson River Swim. He has completed numerous marathon swims around the world since 1998, including the Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming. David lives in High Falls, New York.